This document relates to wireless communication systems.
Wireless communication systems can include a network of one or more base stations to communicate with one or more wireless devices such as a mobile device, cell phone, wireless air card, mobile station (MS), user equipment (UE), access terminal (AT), or subscriber station (SS). Base station (BS) can emit radio signals that carry data such as voice data and other data content to wireless devices. In various wireless communication systems, wireless coverage can be divided into many geographic areas, called cells. A base station can provide wireless service in one or more cells to one or more wireless devices. Various examples of cells include macro cell, micro cell, and pico cell, which can differ in size and capacity.
A femto cell is a smaller scale cell that can provide wireless service to homes, businesses, and areas which may not be adequately covered by a macro cell or a different cell in a wireless communication system. A base station that provides wireless service for one or more femto cells can be referred to as a Femto Access Point (FAP). A FAP can connect to a wireless operator's core network equipment via a backhaul connection. A FAP can use wired or wireless broadband connection at home or business, e.g., ADSL, cable modem, fiber, wireless microwave, wireless interoperability for microwave access (WiMAX) technologies, as a backhaul connection. When a wireless device enters a femto cell coverage area, the wireless device can communicate with the associated FAP over a wireless air interface technology and can receive services from the same wireless operator via the broadband backhaul connection of the FAP.
A base station and a wireless device can wirelessly communicate using one or more wireless air interface technologies such as those defined in 3GPP2, 3GPP, and IEEE 802.16 specifications. Various examples of air interface technologies include Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), CDMA2000, High Rate Packet Data (HRPD), Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), and WiMAX.